


The World Wasn’t Ready for Megamind in 2010

by mishfii



Category: Megamind (2010)
Genre: megamind - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28707246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mishfii/pseuds/mishfii
Summary: This is an in-depth analysis/argumentative paper on how Megamind (2010) was cheated out of reaching its full potential in the world of movie critics, and why it has been utterly wronged by us as an audience. It infuriates me that every day, we as a society stray further and further from realizing the lost potential of many undermined films. I write this in hopes of shedding some light on the situation. Please, dear reader; repent for Megamind. Open your eyes and see how dirty we've done it.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	The World Wasn’t Ready for Megamind in 2010

**Author's Note:**

> this was for fun ;; thanks
> 
> hope you're as passionate about megamind (2010) as i am

The World Wasn’t Ready for Megamind in 2010.  
mishfii

From the moment the first animated film, Fantasmagorie, was released in 1908, animated movies have been progressively improving in quality and style. More and more timeless classics have been produced as animated films; from the movies of the Disney Renaissance period (1989-1999) to the “modern classics” such as The Incredibles (2004) and Tangled (2010), the animation-entertainment industry has undeniably left its mark on the hearts of all who love to watch movies. However, there are animated films that have not gotten the recognition that they deserve despite being completely worthy of the title “timeless classic”. Dreamworks’ Megamind (2010) is an exceptional movie with groundbreaking components that make it worthy of receiving legions more recognition than it got upon its release. As a result of bad timing and skewed perspectives, Megamind was swept under the rug and passed off as a mediocre animated film for children when in reality it is so much more. As quoted by Tumblr user @wadamwoltron, “the world was not ready for Megamind in 2010”, and there are piles upon piles of proof to justify it. 

There are many things that contribute to the overall high quality of Megamind, one of the most notable of them being its unique plot. The film follows the story of the alien super-villain Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrel) who, after years of lost battles, had finally defeated his arch-nemesis: the much-loved superhero Metro Man (voiced by Brad Pitt). After eliminating his one and only threat, Megamind takes control of his home city “Metropolis” with the help of his minion (voiced by David Cross). However, after months of having nobody to challenge him, Megamind eventually ended up falling into the depression that comes with a lack of purpose. In an effort to create a new threat for himself, Megamind accidentally created a villain more “super” than him and completely switches sides in an effort to save the main love interest, Roxanne Ritchi (voiced by Tina Fey). Riddled throughout the story are themes of abandonment, self-fulfillment and self-esteem, good vs evil, and living up to the expectations of those around you. Megamind’s plot is completely and undoubtedly unique in terms of animated movies during that period of time. The characters in other superhero movies always stuck wholeheartedly to their stereotypical archetypes; the hero would stay the hero, and the villain would stay the villain. The mold that production companies such as Dreamworks and Pixar created around superhero movies was, and still is, an extremely restricting aspect in terms of movie-making. Megamind was a groundbreaking film, and yet was still undermined by apathetic and unappreciative critics who castigated it for not following a generic hero movie plotline. Given a criminal rating of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, critics were quoted to have said that Megamind “regurgitates plot points from earlier animated efforts”, and that it was “unspectacular and copy-pasted” (-Rotten Tomatoes critics, 2010). The film, in reality, is the very opposite. Megamind explores a completely new plot and unique themes never-before-seen in an animated movie directed towards families and children. To say that Megamind “regurgitates plot points” is an extremely inaccurate (and frankly shameful) depiction of the film. Everything about Megamind, even down to its character archetypes, was built to break the mold of the generic superhero movie. The wide variety of representation in this movie, whether it be the motivations behind a character’s actions or basic physical characteristics, brings the film to a whole other level of presenting unique subjects that usually are swept under the rug in the animated film industry.

Megamind does a fantastic job at representing character archetypes that are not typically portrayed in animated films. Often times we will find that the cast of newer animated movies will suffer from something called the “Same Face Syndrome”, where most of the characters look have the same facial features (minus small differences like colour and blemishes). Even most modern princess characters now all share the same type of unrealistic body standards. However, when examining the animated casts of Megamind, the audience can easily see that all sorts of body types are being represented. From skin tone to body type, the characters obviously represent a wide variety of appearances. This representation, in particular, is an extremely important detail to add to films that are targeted towards a younger audience, as it somewhat demystifies the unrealistic standards that society holds its members to today. Megamind does a superb job with its representation in not only looks but one’s individual situation as well. Barely ten minutes in, Megamind subversively exposes and examines class privilege while simultaneously humanizing the prisoners within the Metropolean justice system. The movie begins with both Megamind and Metroman crash-landing on planet Earth after being booted from their home planets. Metroman ended up in the home of an elite and wealthy couple, and Megamind literally landed in a prison courtyard. Both parties made the decision to adopt their surprise visitors, and over the next few minutes, Disney goes on to demonstrate how having accessible resources and opportunities as a result of being a member of the upper class allowed Metroman to rise to acclaim as a superhero. Megamind, meanwhile, was raised by the prisoners of the jail he landed in with a more pessimistic outlook on “good vs evil”. While Megamind’s motives were certainly to fight good and do evil, this is most likely due to him being an outcast in society; a comment on the alienating effects of the prison system. Furthermore, the way that Megamind was lovingly raised by inmates also went on to humanize prisoners instead of representing them all as thugs, as the media tends to enjoy. Over and over again, we see the media damaging the types of representation that it does not appreciate in order to promote the types that it does, and unfortunately, Megamind was ensnared in its godawful ways of erasure.

After having read through these arguments, one may wonder why Megamind was ever undermined in the first place. And, much to our unfortune, there are a variety of reasons contributing to the downfall of the film; the most notable among them being the release of Despicable Me (2010). Released a mere five months before Megamind, Despicable Me blew the box office out of the water, raking in a whopping 543.1 million USD the day of its release, earning itself a comfortable 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. A synopsis of the film, courtesy of Google, is as follows:

“A man who delights in all things wicked, supervillain Gru (Steve Carell) hatches a plan to steal the moon. Surrounded by an army of little yellow minions and his impenetrable arsenal of weapons and war machines, Gru makes ready to vanquish all who stand in his way. But nothing in his calculations and groundwork has prepared him for his greatest challenge: three adorable orphan girls (Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher) who want to make him their dad.”

The film follows a similar “villain-turned-hero” concept as Megamind, and yet was praised much more with high ratings and an overwhelming sense of support from the audience. The earlier release of Despicable Me completely skewed the critics’ points of view for Megamind, which was ultimately its downfall. Containing a unique plot, excellent character design, and a top-shelf cast, Megamind was destined for greatness before being defeated by the little yellow Tic-Tacs that the internet has come to hate with a passion. USA Today's Claudia Puig was quoted as saying “Do we really need Megamind when Despicable Me is around?”, which goes on to demonstrate just how biased the critics were at the time of Megamind’s release.

Should Megamind have been released today instead of in 2010, it is a guarantee that it would have received much better feedback than it did from the Despicable Me Enthusiasts of the time. It is a great shame that society did not give this piece of cinematic gold the recognition it deserved upon its release. May we work towards a brighter future; one in which Megamind gets exactly the kind of attention it deserved back in 2010.


End file.
